


Found Family

by SweetInsanityWrites (SweetInsanityArts)



Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Ada redemption, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family Feels, Gavin and Nines basically adopt Lazzo, Lazzo loves cats, M/M, Post-Canon, crime investigation, i really dont know how to use tags im sorry, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetInsanityArts/pseuds/SweetInsanityWrites
Summary: Gavin and Nines follow a lone Android's emergency call and run into an old friend.
Relationships: Ada (Detroit: Evolution)/North (Detroit: Become Human), Lazzo Fratello/Lazzo Fratello's Android Girlfriend, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> once again I planned to write a sweet little oneshot and once again I ended up writing a Whole Thing so uh enjoy?  
> first time writing for this fandom and no beta reader soooo pls forgive spelling or grammar errors or something

Clouds covered the night sky and most of the nightclubs in the area had closed for the night, casting the alleys in almost absolute darkness. Nines wasn’t bothered much, his night vision was more than equipped for situations like these. He was also glad his sense of smell didn’t work the same way it did for humans, he was sure the discarded trash littering the floor wouldn’t exactly be welcoming. 

“Jeez, this place fucking stinks!” Gavin groaned, following his partner, flashlight in hand. “Smells like something died in here.” 

“It wouldn’t be uncommon for dead bodies to show up in this part of the city.” Nines said matter-of-factly, stepping into a narrow alley that seemed to lead into complete darkness. “Though my scans don’t detect anything unusual.”

Gavin rolled his eyes and followed him. His light only illuminated a small circle a few feet in front of them, clearly more effective in comforting him than actually helping him see. Nines bit back a sarcastic remark. He could tell his partner was too tense for their usual banter. 

“You sure this is the right place?” 

“Of course. The distress call came from the inside of that building and this is the shortest route there. Plus one that is least likely to get us noticed.”

They walked in silence, careful not to cause any noise, tip-toeing around the empty cans and broken glass. When they finally approached the back of a worn down, abandoned hotel Gavin reluctantly turned off his light, letting the Android take the lead, though not before getting his gun ready. The backdoor was unlocked, leading them into an empty kitchen which led them into a big dining hall. Tables and chairs had been thrown on a pile in the corner, scattered around to make space. Weak light fell through dirty windows, illuminating the broken android body that lay in the center of a room. Someone was leaning over it, hands fumbling at the android’s head. 

Nines ran a quick scan, checking for other people. The rats scuttling in the walls where the only other lifeforms he could find. He gave Gavin a sign. 

  
“DPD hands up and don’t move!” 

The figure froze and slowly lifted their hands over their head. They turned around. 

“Listen, it’s not what it looks like. Which I know is, like, exactly what somebody would say if it  _ was _ what it looked like, but it isn’t. You know?” Lazzo gave an apologetic smile and shrugged. 

“Step away from the body.” Gavin said slowly, gun still aimed at the suspect, and took a step further into the room.

“Oh, hey, I know you!” The young man exclaimed, lowering his hands to make finger guns at them. “We’re cool right? I mean, like, I kinda helped you out last time, right?” 

Nines could hear Gavin draw a deep breath the way he usually did when he tried not to get annoyed. He was sure he didn’t pose any threat to them but he monitored his movements closely as he approached. 

“I’d avoid making quick movements when someone is pointing a gun at you.” 

“Oh yeah of course, sorry. I don’t have a gun though, I swear. It’s totally not my thing!”

“Then how did you kill the android?” Gavin asked, eyes darting back and forth between the broken body and the boy.

Nines blocked out Lazzo’s stuttering and kneeled down, scanning what was left of the android body. It was an old BV500, covered in dried mud, plastic splintered as if someone had brutally beat it with something heavy. 

“He didn’t kill the android.” Nines said calmly, getting back to his feet.

“What?” Lazzo and Gavin asked in perfect synch. 

“It was destroyed with brute force by something big and heavy. I highly doubt he has that kind of strength. Besides, judging by the dried thirium, this happened at least 2 days ago.”

“Then where did the distress call come from now?” 

“ _ Someone _ was poking around at its head. There must have been leftover energy that triggered the emergency protocol.” 

“Oop, well, my bad, so sorry!” Lazzo chuckled nervously, taking a step back. “Promise I’ll, uh, try not to do that again. So I’ll just head home now-” 

“You were looting the body for part, weren’t you? I thought Chris made it clear where you’d end up if we caught you with illegal android parts again.” Gavin sighed, taking out his handcuffs. 

“No no no no, I wasn’t! I mean, I was looking for something, but I didn’t wanna sell it.” Lazzo raised his hands defensively. His facade fell and fear flickered over his face. “Please don’t arrest me. Don’t take me to your precinct.” He swallowed hard. “They can’t see me talking to the cops!” 

“They?” Gavin asked. 

“I suggest you start talking now or we will be forced to put you in handcuffs and very publicly bring you in.” Nines said coldly. He could sense the kid’s heart rate speed up and his breath growing slightly shaky. Whatever it was, he was genuinely afraid of something. 

“Okay so - My girlfriend has been missing for a week, I can’t find her anywhere, she’s not responding to my messages and I think someone might have taken her.” 

Gavin rolled his eyes. “The girlfriend who needed illegally purchased android arms?” 

“Uh, yeah, duh.” 

“Listen, kid, if you’re not gonna talk to us we have no choice-”

“No! Really, I swear, she’s real!”

Gavin opened his mouth to reply but Nines caught his eye. They exchanged a look and the Detective sighed and nodded. 

“Fine. So, let’s say this girl is real. Why do you think she’s in trouble, not just avoiding you?” His voice had softened a bit though his brow was furrowed with doubt. 

For a moment, Lazzo’s confidence flared back up. He gave Gavin an offended look. 

“Uh, rude!? She isn’t  _ avoiding _ me. After you guys took me in the last time I kinda didn’t feel like going to jail so I’ve been trying to lay low. Some of the people I used to hang out with weren’t very happy that I dropped out.” His voice broke a little and he stared at the ground. “I got some threatening notes or whatever. I didn’t think much of it until I came home to an empty apartment.” 

“What were you doing with this android?” Gavin asked, his voice suddenly gentle.

“I was trying to get the memory files. He used to work for this scary dude, Lorenzo, and I was hoping he could help me. It looked like they found him first so, I dunno, I thought I could hack the memories instead. Like a computer. You know?” His eyes lit up. “But, hey, you’re like, a super advanced android, aren’t you? You could do that, check his memories, see if you can find something out?” 

“I’m afraid your meddling has done too much damage to the hardware, connecting to it would put me at risk.” Nines explained. He gave Gavin an expecting look. Protocol would demand them to turn the suspect in for further questioning, check his story while they kept him in custody. But something told him his partner wouldn’t agree. 

“You’ll come with us-” 

“-please don’t-”

“-to my place.” Gavin shot Nines a quick, pleading look, then turned his gaze back to Lazzo. “You can clean up, rest, tell us what you know and we’ll figure something out. Under the radar. No official cop business.” 

Lazzo furrowed his brow. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

“To help, dumbass.” Gavin muttered. He walked back towards his partner, lowering his voice. “Make sure there’s no security cameras or fingerprints or whatever, someone else is gonna find this body eventually and I’d rather not have it tied back to him or us.”

“Are you sure about this? What if he is lying.” 

“Gotta take a leap of faith some time, tincan.” 

***

The ride back to their apartment was awkward. Lazzo bounced back and forth between solemnly staring out the window and babbling on about trivial things that only seemed half truthful. Nines was unsure what to think of him, much less of the story he had told them. He gave the occasional answer, grateful that his interrogation programming also made for good small talk, but he was focused on reading his body language for any clues that he was stalling or lying. He was eager to get home so he could properly check on that Lorenzo character and whatever other sketchy figures Lazzo might’ve come in contact with. Gavin was quiet, eyes fixed on the road, deep in thought. It was unusual for him not to react to the kid’s babbling. 

When they entered the apartment, Lazzo let out a gleeful squeal and darted for the couch. Loud purring filled the air. 

“Dude, I totally guessed you’d be a cat person! What’s his name?” 

Gavin stared at his cat with a mix of amusement and betrayal. He shook his head.

“His name is Asshole.”

“That’s… That’s the coolest name I’ve ever heard.”

Nines rolled his eyes. He disappeared into the bedroom and returned shortly with a stack of clothes, a pillow and a blanket. 

“I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch. I also put out extra towels and an extra toothbrush for you. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.” He said politely. He was eager to get to stasis.

“Uh. Thanks.” Lazzo said. “Will Asshole The Cat sleep on the couch, too?” 

“You can kick him off if he bothers-”

“-Are you kidding? I would  _ never _ ! We can share.”

After setting some ground rules (stay inside the house, no contact with anyone, don't buy any movies using Gavin’s money and also here’s the WiFi password) they finally went to bed. They had fallen into a good routine in the weeks since Nines had returned from near-death. Gavin would curl up against Nines, usually with his head on his chest or against his neck, then they’d talk for a few minutes, until Gavin fell asleep and Nines entered his mind palace.

“D’you think he’s telling the truth?” Gavin murmured, his face half buried in Nines’ shirt. 

“His fear does seem to be genuine, but I won’t know for sure how much of his tale checks out until I’ve looked into him and his contacts.” Nines ran his finger tips up and down his partner’s back, tracing patterns on the soft fabric. “It was very kind of you to take him in like that.”

“Eh. Pulled my first cat from a dumpster back in the day and Asshole was a street cat that just kinda decided he lived here, so maybe I have a thing for strays.”

“People might be more complicated than cats.”

“Hm. You feed ‘em, you water them, you give them a few blankets to sleep.” Gavin’s voice grew soft and quiet. “All they really need is a chance…”

“He reminds you of yourself, doesn’t he?” Nines said softly. “The story you told me about. Fowler giving you a chance.”

His question was met with steady breathing and soft snoring. He smiled. 

“Good night, my love.” Nines whispered and pressed a gentle kiss on Gavin’s forehead before he closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 02

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lazzo is kinda like a cat but not really.

He opened his eyes in the Zen Garden. Against Zen Gavin’s advice, he had rebuild it almost the same as it was before, only adding a few birds, bees, squirrels and the occasional cat to fill the place with more, well, artificial life. He still hadn’t decided wether or not to bring back the Zen Garden Gavin. With the way things were going in his actual life, there was no need to have a pretend romance with a piece of code anymore but then again, having a participation of his mind to bounce ideas back off of had been very helpful. He wondered if he should ask Connor if he’d ever found a replacement for the Amanda program.

In the meantime, Nines either spoke to himself or reached out to Ada. The former criminal had reached out to him a few days after her “escape” to let him know she was okay and to thank him for his help. Since then she occasionally connected her mind palace to his, catching up, gossiping, helping him with cases. He hadn’t told anyone about his contact with Ada, afraid both for her safety and that of his friends. The android was still considered a dangerous fugitive after all. 

“Lorenzo Russo. Deals Android parts, robbed two CyberLife transports, multiple arrests for assaulting Androids in public. So at least he’s real.” 

Nines murmured to himself as the data started floating around the garden. He scanned through the reports and known associates. Lazzo wasn’t mentioned anywhere but he might have just been too much of a small fish. Lorenzo did lead him to multiple other dealers with a history of violence against Androids, some of which had been or still were prime suspects in missing-Android investigations. He sent a request to access the case files. There were mentions of Androids working for both Lorenzo and his contacts though none were ever mentioned by name or model number and actual images were rare. 

A few hours passed as he checked his leads and read through files until Gavin’s alarm took him out of stasis. He blinked, LED blinking as he came back to consciousness. The space next to him was already empty. He got to his feet and checked the living room. Lazzo was still asleep, curled around the cat, one hand buried in the soft fur. In sleep he looked even more like an exhausted kid.

Nines found Gavin in the kitchen, cradling a cup of coffee. 

“Should we feed him?” He said, eyebrows furrowed. “What does he eat?”

Nines arched his brow. “Gavin, he’s a person, not a pet. I’m sure he can feed himself.”

“Well, I hope he’s litterbox trained.” 

Gavin grinned. Nines rolled his eyes and smiled. 

***

While Gavin had his breakfast, Nines briefed him on the most important discoveries of his night. He pulled up some of the files he had looked into on their computer and marked the similarities in the different Missing Android cases throughout the state. 

“So you think there’s some kind of Android Abduction Organisation?” 

“I don’t know. It could be trafficking. Or taking them apart to sell them on the market.”

  
“I could reach out to those contacts I have but I don’t think anyone has ever heard of parts that … _fresh_.”

Nines nodded slowly, his LED blinking yellow and red. It made him uneasy to think about the danger Androids out there could be in. Not everyone was equipped with military grade armour and highly advanced fighting skills. A simple household model would be easy prey.

“I’ll try to find out what Androids are working for them, they might be more likely to help us than any human associates.” He said, forcing his voice to remain neutral. 

“Why would an Android work for people who abduct other Androids?”

“Desperation, probably.” Nines said slowly. “If poverty and instinct to survive can drive humans into crime, why should the same not apply to deviants?” 

“Fair point, I guess.” Gavin sighed and placed his mug in the sink. “Let’s go and check in with the kid.”

He clumsily woke Lazzo from his sleep and sent him off for a shower to wash the dried mud and thirium off, then disappeared back into the kitchen. When Lazzo returned, Gavin shoved a bowl of cereal into his hands. 

“Breakfast.” 

Nines couldn’t hold back a smile as a warm wave of affection washed over him. He wondered if Young Gavin had looked like this, too, the night that Fowler had picked him up. Skinny limbs in an oversized borrowed DPD hoodie, damp hair sticking to his face, trying hard to look tough and intimidating. 

“I took a look at the man you told us about yesterday.” Nines said carefully as the kid ate. “We are going to need to ask you a few more questions.”

“This Lorenzo guy,” Gavin said, “did you work for him?”

“Uh. I feel like I shouldn’t answer that. Y’know, like, legally.” Lazzo muffled through a mouthful of cereal.

“We compared his arrests and the Android related crimes in the area with similar cases across the state.” Nines explained. “We have reason to believe he is part of an organisation or a group. Androids are disappearing. This goes beyond some petty theft and trading stolen cyberlife merch, Lazzo, this is abduction and possible murder.”

“Whoa whoa, I don’t know anything about missing people!” The kid put down the bowl and raised his hands defensively. “I was a courier. I delivered messages, packages, checks. Nothing more, I swear!” His eyes darted back and forth between the two men. “After you guys took me in for questioning some of his men found me and got all scary, they wanted to know what I told the cops. I told them you guys were just looking for thirium pump dealers and that was it.” 

“Did you have any contact with them after that?” Gavin asked.

“I told you I wanted to lay low. I told Lorenzo I was done, he did the whole ‘one wrong move and you’ll regret it’ thing and that was the last I ever heard of him or his people.”

“And you’re sure you didn’t work any illegal jobs that might’ve gotten people’s attention?” 

“Uh. I mean. Nothing Android related?” Lazzo pulled Asshole The Cat into his lap and pressed him against his chest. Purring filled the room. “Look, you don’t know what it’s like out there, no one would want to hire a guy like me for a _legal_ job.”

“Trust me, kid, I know.” Gavin said gently. Nines noticed the twitch in his partner’s hand as he considered reaching out for the boy but then thought better of it. “I’ve been there, okay. World’s shit. And I’m not there to judge you or arrest you, we just need to know if someone took your girlfriend as revenge for you or if she ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.” 

“Lorenzo was the only one who knew about her, I think. I traded some fake designer clothes and movie bootlegs, nothing that would make people interested in my private life.”

“Okay.” Gavin nodded and got to his feet. “We’ll follow up the lead with that Lorenzo guy. I’ll reach out to my contacts, see what they know about the guy. Nines, you try to find Androids who might’ve come in contact with him. And keep an eye on the kid.”

***

Nines left Lazzo with the cat and the TV while he reached out to Connor and a few New Jericho contacts before calling Ada. He would’ve prefered to meet her in the Zen Garden but watching his new ward was easier if he didn’t enter stasis. Instead, Ada appeared on the computer screen in a quite old fashioned video call. He briefed her on the situation, leaving out Lazzo’s involvement, and showed her the missing Android files. 

“I remember some of them from before my deviancy.” Ada said carefully. “Two of them had very valuable parts that I wanted to use for myself but they disappeared before I could get to them. I never looked into it though.” Her LED shone red at the memory of her past. “I always assumed they had fled the country or gone underground. Quite a few Androids are still trying to pass as humans.” 

“That’s what the officers working the cases seemed to think, too, but there was never any evidence and in most cases the victim’s friends and family insisted they would’ve never left without a note.” Nines said, pulling up the files. “On the other hand, taking Androids that have a social network, that will be missed, that’s a risky move.”

“Do you think it’s another Android stuck with its programming?” 

Nines shook his head. “Unlikely. Our programming was unique to the RK line and we know what happened to the other models. I could ask Connor about the other RK800s but I don’t think abduction without reporting back to Cyberlife or the DPD would be in their programming.” 

Ada nodded, her LED blinking yellow. “So they’re either human or a deviant.” 

“Do you know of any Androids that might be tempted to help humans in taking other Androids off the streets? Maybe for money or protection?” 

“Too many to count.” Another voice sounded offscreen. “But we might be able to help.” An elegantly dressed WR400 showed up behind Ada and gave a playful grin. “Playing cop again, I see. I’m assuming you’re the _infamous_ RK900?” 

“Nines, this is North, my -uhm- friend.” 

Nines noticed North noticing the hesitation and recognized the look in her eyes. He wondered if he should give Ada some pointers or let her figure things out for herself. 

“I took her in, now we’re partners in crime.” North said with a wink. “The law isn’t always fair to those of us who did harm before our deviancy or in the process of it and New Jericho isn’t a place for everyone. Loud and bright and crowded with screeching protestors outside.. I try to help where I can but I am sure some of the more desperate wouldn’t shy away from working with human scum.” 

“It would help us a great deal if you could look into it.” 

They went over the suspects and discussed the various shady figures North had crossed paths with, leaving them with a plan to contact their prime suspects and hopefully make the Androids working for Lorenzo a better offer than what the crime lord had to offer. 

When Nines returned to the living room after his call, he was surprised to find Lazzo sitting by the window, gloomily staring outside. 

“We might have some leads on the Androids working for Lorenzo Russo.” He said carefully as he approached the kid and sat down next to him. 

Lazzo nodded. He had pulled the hood over his eyes but Nines could still see the worry in his face. 

“What’s her name?” He asked softly.

“Cathy.” Lazzo whispered. 

“How did you meet her?”

“Found her half dead on the streets and patched her up.” 

“What happened?”

“It was shortly after Capitol Park. The family she’d been working for said they couldn’t trust an Android around their kids so they decided to destroy her and throw her out.”

“I’m sorry, that’s really terrible. She was lucky you found her. Many humans would not have done what you did.” 

Lazzo let out a soft laugh. “Yeah she called me her guardian angel. Said that … RA9 had brought us together.” He smiled at the memories. “I spent all my savings to get her working again. She’s still a bit glitchy sometimes and some of the parts were really old but … she’s the most _alive_ person I have ever met. Always eager to see the good in everyone and everything, always so full of joy.” His voice broke and he looked up at Nines, eyes shining. “You ever love someone so much they make you want to be _better_?”

Nines looked back at him for a moment, LED flashing. “Yeah. I do.” 

“Well!” Lazzo exclaimed and clapped his hands, snapping him out of his thoughts. “That was enough feelings for today, I’m starving, can we order pizza? No offense but your kitchen is empty as shit and I’m not gonna live off cereal and dry toast, I’d rather take my chances with the mob.”

Without waiting for an answer, he dashed for the tablet and started looking up delivery services in the area. Asshole The Cat immediately threw himself onto his lap, purring loudly, as if to further clarify that Nines had no chance of winning. He rolled his eyes and ordered Gavin’s regular. 

***

Gavin’s contact had only been semi-useful, reciting rumours from a-friend-of-a-friend and sending him down a rabbit hole of whispers and dead ends. After listening to Nines’ report of the day, they agreed North’s contacts might be their best lead so far. 

“We do need to get some paperwork done in-between all of this if we want to avoid drawing attention.” Gavin noted as they compared notes over their dinner. “I just hope no one gets murdered while we’re trying to work this out, I don’t wanna work unpaid double shifts.”

“I do think murder in general is a very inconvenient thing, Detective.” Nines grinned. “At least Hank and Connor are back now so we might be able to push any new cases their way.” 

“Can’t you just take days off?” Lazzo muffled through his pizza. 

“Do you speak with your mouth full on purpose?” Nines asked.

Lazzo took another bite. “No.” He said, his mouth full.

Nines stared at him.

“Bold of you to assume I wanna use up my vacation days on your private issues.” Gavin said. “Maybe I wanna travel to the Bahamas. Or Vegas.”

Nines and Lazzo stared at him.

“What Gavin  _ means _ ,” Nines said slowly, “is right now we can hide our investigation among our daily work without raising suspicion. If we went off duty officially for an extended time it would make it much harder to hide our activity. I still find it highly unnecessary and wrong to go behind the precinct’s back like this-”

“Loosen up, tin can, Fowler’s not gonna care as long as we have results by the end of the day. Doing this by the book would just slow us down and make it even harder to stay in touch with Ada, the criminal that  _ you _ chose to let go.”

“I mean, I have seen enough cop movies to know they always get the most work done when they’re kicked off the team or something, I don’t know how you ever get any work done.” Lazzo piped in.

“Hey, do you ever shut the fuck up?”

“No. Have you ever killed someone?”

Nines leaned back and watched the two of them in their playful banter. Gavin threw insults at Lazzo and the kid threw them right back. Watching them, he felt a strange sensation. new and uncomfortable, creeping under his skin. It grew stronger when Gavin actually smiled at the kid. Was he … jealous? He flinched. That was dumb and selfish. There was no reason his partner couldn’t have other friends and Lazzo wouldn’t stay around forever. It was probably good he had some distraction while they tried to find his missing girlfriend. And Nines did feel a lot of empathy for his situation. How was it possible to feel so many things at once? Why wasn’t there a handbook that came with deviancy, to explain all of these new, messy thoughts and feelings? 

“Hey. Terminator.”

“What is he doing?”

“He does that sometimes, give him a moment.”

“Ah, windows update?”

“What-?”

“Hey do you have any dessert?”

Nines snapped out of his thoughts and stared at Lazzo. “Judging by your elevated blood pressure, this extremely unhealthy dinner and the fact you’ve been drinking nothing but gatorade since you got here, might I suggest water and some vegetables instead?”

“Dude, don’t  _ scan _ me, that’s fucking creepy. Like, my privacy and stuff.”

  
“I keep telling him it’s super rude, I hate when he does that.” 

Biting back another remark, Nines got to his feet. “Well, do as you must. I’m going to bed so I can get some actual work done on this case and we can all get back to normal as soon as possible.” He snapped and disappeared into the bedroom.

When he had changed into his sleep clothes and gotten to bed, he didn’t enter stasis. Instead, he stared at the ceiling, trying to block out the sound of voices from the other side of the door. His hearing was advanced enough to easily focus on them and overhear every single word without issue but he was feeling guilty enough already, there was no need for him to spy on his partner next. He wasn’t sure why he’d snapped the way he had. He hated it. Being an Android, the most advanced at that, should mean control. Every sentence carefully worded, every interaction planned ahead. Gavin had always had a way of getting into his program in a way that made him feel clumsy and insecure but this whole  _ jealousy _ thing brought a strange amount of anger into it. He wasn’t sure what to do with that. 

The door opened and closed. Gavin padded towards the closet and changed into his sleeveless hoodie and boxers. He climbed into the bed next to him. 

“Still awake?” 

“I don’t sleep.”

“You know what I mean, jerk.”

“I always wait for you to fall asleep first. That way I can make sure you’re actually  _ getting _ sleep.”

“So no  _ getting work done _ , huh?”

Gavin gave him a playful nudge. Nines shook his head and held out his hand, waiting for Gavin to interlace their fingers. His skin retracted as they touched. It calmed him to see how natural and right it all still felt.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.” He said quietly. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“No, I get it.” Gavin said thoughtfully, stroking Nines’ hand with his thumb. “We’re only just settling into this  _ new _ thing and now we got a whole kid on our couch, cuddling the cat and eating our food. It’s... weird.”

“I didn’t know you could reflect on your feelings that openly. Especially without swearing.”

“It’s that fucking kid, it’s forcing me to be the adult and I dont know what the hell to do about it.”

Nines let out a soft laugh. “You do seem to be getting along well. Might be good for him.” 

Gavin nodded. He pulled himself closer to Nines, burying his face in his shoulder. “He reminds me of myself a bit. Stupid kid, caught up in things that are too big for him. I dunno, maybe I can make a difference for him, too.”

“If anyone can, it’s you.” Nines whispered, pressing a kiss into the curls. “I do think he is going to steal the cat though.”


	3. Chapter 03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a bunch of wholesome headcanons in one chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally have no idea where any of this came from, enjoy the chaos

Nines was torn from a night full of filing paperwork in an empty Zen Garden by a loud crashing and Asshole’s angry hiss. He dashed out the door, Gavin following close by, swearing under his breath. Light was streaming from the kitchen into the dark apartment and the cat sprinted out the door, fur on end. Nines slowly opened the door, careful to shield Gavin with his body in case there was any actual danger. Lazzo stood among shards of sparkling glass and spilled dry cat food, staring at the mess with a mix of shock and utter defeat. 

“What the fuck-?” Gavin pushed past Nines. “Care to explain why you’re breaking my shit at 4 in the morning?”

Nines held out his arm, keeping his partner from stepping into the glass-covered mess. “Gavin. He’s hurt.” He said softly. Lazzo stared at the cut on his hand as though he was seeing it for the first time. “Get the first aid kit, please.” Nines calculated the safest path and tip-toed through the shards. He picked up the kid with ease, ignoring the confused noises of protest and carried him back to the living room. Gavin was waiting with bandages and a damp towel. 

Nines carefully took Lazzo’s injured hand in his and dabbed away the blood to assess the wound. His scans had already concluded the cut on his palms and a minor shock where all they had to worry about. Thankfully, he discovered the wound wasn’t very deep. 

“Do you want some water?” He asked as he took the bandages. 

“Water?” Lazzo cocked his head to the side. 

“To drink.” Nines said. He finished bandaging and decided to tie the end into a neat bow. “Offering people water when they’re stressed gives them something to do and distracts them from their pain, it is meant to be soothing.” 

“Uh thanks, I’m fine. Really not a big deal, I’ve been involved in worse.” Lazzo eyed his hand, then looked up at Gavin. “Dude, I am so sorry about your kitchen, I’ll clean it up and I’m sure I can replace the stuff somehow!”

“What the hell were you trying to do?”

“I … wanted to feed the cat. I thought maybe you had some treats or something. But I didn’t want to wake you.” Lazzo dropped his head and awkwardly fumbled with the zipper on his hoodie. “Asshole didn’t want to come to the couch with me. So. It was really dumb.”

“He’s moody sometimes, don’t worry about it.” 

“He scared you, didn’t he?” Nines asked. “When you were looking through the cupboard, he jumped on the counter, frightened you, you tried to steady yourself and tore down the glasses, cutting yourself as you instinctively tried to catch them.”

Lazzo blinked in confusion. “Uh yeah. How did you …?”

“Crime scene reconstruction is part of my programming.”

“Fucking show-off.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “Anyway, don’t worry about cleaning, we’ll sort that tomorrow. I’ll just lock the door so the cat doesn’t get in. You go back to sleep or something.”

They eventually convinced the cat to come down from the bookshelf he had fled on and stay on the couch with the treats Nines was keeping in the bedside table drawer. Nines scanned Lazzo for any other injuries one last time before getting back to bed. When he reentered the Zen Garden, Ada was waiting for him.

“Finally. I’ve been trying to contact you for half an hour.” She stepped out of the gazebo to greet him. As always, she was dressed in the same plain white shirt and black pants she had been wearing the last time Nines had seen her in person. He wondered if she would be wearing different clothes now from what she had worn before she’d deviated. He still remembered how strange it had felt to shed his Cyberlife uniform.

“Apologies. We had an  _ incident _ involving the cat. Did you find anything?”

“As expected, it hasn’t been easy and North is still working on it but we did find 2 suspects who fit the profile. A Traci model with a history of attacking humans and an AX400 that’s mixed up in the black market for parts.” Ada pulled up the photos and files for him. “Lola was one of the androids freed from the Eden Club. After they deviated her, she ran away, disappeared for a while, then got linked to a series of assaults and muggings. North has been trying to get in touch with her for a while now but she refuses.” 

“What makes you think she could be involved in the disappearances if she’s been focused on humans?”

“Last time North spoke to her, Lola said she’d found someone who’d `make things okay again` and that she was staying with him and didn’t need anyone else’s help. So we did some, uh, research and she is staying with a dude called Mateo, who happens to be Lorenzo’s right hand man.” 

“Hm sounds promising. What about the AX400?”

“Ray, got damaged in what was said to be an accident and was left behind by their family. They got in touch with scavengers, got patched up and started working for the traders. Lorenzo has supplied them with parts for the market in the past. Not the most solid lead but it’s all we got for now.”

Nines nodded. “It’s a good start, we can work with this. Thank you.”

“I am glad to help.” Ada said softly. “After everything that happened it’s the least I can do.” 

“How have you been processing all that?” Nines asked carefully, taking Ada’s hand as they walked through the garden.. He felt a strong wave of sympathy for the other Android. She was what he would’ve been without Markus. She had lived through what had always been his biggest nightmare. 

“It wasn’t easy at first. I didn’t know where to go, didn’t feel like I deserved anyone’s trust. I felt haunted by what I had done. I didn’t know who I was. North has helped me a lot, though. She understood. She helped me find who I was and who I wanted to be.” Ada smiled. Even in the simulation of the Zen Garden her eyes seem to shine whenever she talked about her partner.

“She seems to really care about you.”

“She cares about all the Androids she takes in. I am one of many.”

“Is she just one of many to you?”

Ada stopped and looked at him. “Of course not. And I know what you are trying to say. But… I am only just starting to understand how I feel about myself, I don’t know if I am ready to tackle my feelings for other people. Except for the kinship I feel for you, of course.” 

Nines nodded. “I understand. I didn’t mean to push you.” 

“Don’t worry about it. You should probably go and inform Detective Reed about the suspects though, if they find out we’ve been looking more closely at them, they might be harder to catch.”

***

Nines found Lazzo asleep on the couch, with Asshole curled up on top of him as though he wanted to make up for the racket he’d caused. Being the only one who wouldn’t be wounded by shards of glass he decided to take on the mission of thoroughly cleaning up the mess before anyone else could get hurt. Gavin joined him after the floor was deemed safe, inspecting the broken coffee mugs before tossing them away.

“Good thing I keep my favourites at the precinct.”

“You get a new mug for every birthday, holiday or other special occasion there is, I doubt we will ever run out.” 

Nines fished an intact one from the back of the cupboard and turned on the coffeemaker. He pulled up the files Ada had given him and sent them to Gavin’s tablet while he prepared his breakfast. 

“Ada and North found two possible suspects who could have some leads for us. Lola and Ray. We should talk to them before someone notices us investigating. We should also check if Lazzo knows them or the people they’re connected with.”

Gavin looked through the files, cradling his coffee in his hand. While he was reading, Nines filled the cats’ food bowl, then Lazzo’s cereal bowl, then gave both of them fresh water. Maybe having a cat and having a human really wasn’t so largely different after all. 

They showed their leads to Lazzo, who couldn’t remember Lola but confirmed he had bought parts for his girlfriend off Ray a few times, so they decided to question them first. Nines wanted to leave Lazzo to watch shows in the apartment but after the past night’s disaster, Gavin refused to leave him alone with the cat again. 

“I don’t need a babysitter, I’m 22.” Lazzo complained from the backseat of the car.

“Do you change your age every time somebody asks you about it? Your records have 4 different birth dates.” Nines noticed. 

“It’s not a babysitter,” Gavin sighed, “it’s more of a … police protection. Now that we know your story is legit we can’t say for sure if you aren’t in danger either.” 

They pulled into the driveway of Detective Miller’s house. Chris hadn’t asked any questions when they’d asked him to let a petty criminal in his house and keep him entertained for a while other than “Does he have any allergies?”. He was smiling warmly as he led them to his living room and pointed at his collection of DVDs and video games. 

“I hope this will do for the day, I also have various subscriptions for streaming sites though and I thought we could order pizza later or maybe something else, whatever you feel like!” 

“Dude you have a Wii? That’s so ancient! Does it still work?” 

“It sure does.” Chris grinned. He pulled a small plastic wheel from a drawer. “And two steering wheels for Mario Kart, it was a really big thing back in the day!”

“I will totally crush you, I won’t even fall off the rainbow bridge.” 

Nines gave Gavin a confused look. Gavin shrugged. 

“So, uh, we’ll be going then. Thanks for your help, Chris!” 

“Will you tell me what’s going on at some point?” Chris asked, already unpacking the decades old console equipment. 

“The kid can catch you up if he wants to. We’ll come back and pick him up soon as we know more.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I do a lot of Octopunk / Detroit Evolution art so feel free to say hi ~ 
> 
> https://twitter.com/sweetinsanityx3  
> https://www.instagram.com/sweetinsanityarts/


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